It's the world largest insect living in water and was recently discovered in China's Sichuan province, said experts from the Insect museum of West China.

The "dobsonfly" was spotted by some local villagers on the outskirts of Chengdu. Vilagers then handed over "the weird looking" insect to the museum earlier this month.

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The dobson fly looks rather scary and in some ways resembles a dragonfly with long teeth.

The largest one can cover the face of a human and measures 21 cm with its wings open.

According to the museum, this is longer than the former record for an aquatic insect, the South American helicopter damselflies that "only" have a wingspan of 19.1 centimeters.

Not just one but several of the odd critters were examined by the museum that found them to be especially big specimens of the giant dobsonfly.

But in spite of its scary looking huge pincers in front of its head, the Dobson fly is not dangerous as such.

A dobsonfly, especially the female of the species, can inflict a rather painful bite that can draw blood.

When threatened, both sexes will raise their heads and spread their jaws menacingly. They are not venomous, but possess an irritating, foul-smelling anal spray as a last-ditch defense.

The larvae are predaceous and snatch nearly anything that swims or ambles by, including other aquatic insects and small fish. The adults only live a few days or a week and do not eat during this stage.

The giant dobsonfly is considered an indicator of a high quality in the water environment since it is highly sensitive to changes in water quality.

If the water's pH changes or if there is a trace of pollutants, the dobsonfly simply moves to cleaner waters.

The giant dobsonfly is not defined as a rare insect. It can be found in other Chinese provinces; in India's Assam state and in north Vietnam.

It has not been seen in Sichuan province before, however.

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